Congo

Chronology of Coverage

Jun. 10, 2015

Advocacy group Global Witness says oil firm SOCO International paid tens of thousands of dollars to Congolese Army Officer Burimba Feruzi, who has been accused of heading campaign against those protesting company's oil exploration in Virunga National Park, Africa's oldest. MORE

Feb. 22, 2015

Private photo collection of Sg Madot Dagbinza of 42nd Commando Battalion of Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo, who was killed in 2014, reveals what life was like for woman in ranks of forces fighting against Rwanda-backed rebel group M23. MORE

Jan. 6, 2015

United Nations announces that its troops have launched both airstrikes and ground offensive with Congolese troops targeting leftovers of Burundian rebel group National Liberation Forces; offensive is also meant to pave way for another offensive against Democratic Forces for Liberation of Rwanda. MORE

Dec. 15, 2014

At least 129 people are dead after boat sinks on Lake Tanganyika in remote southeastern region of the Democratic Republic of Congo; true toll of disaster remains unclear, though 232 people are known to have survived. MORE

Nov. 25, 2014

Democratic Republic of Congo lawmakers say dozens of people were killed near Beni in North Kivu Province; attack is blamed on rebels of Allied Democratic Forces and National Army for the Liberation of Uganda. MORE

Nov. 16, 2014

Struggle over oil exploration in Africa’s national parks, including Virunga National Park in Democratic Republic of Congo, is a classic quandary, pitting economic development against environmental preservation; Virunga’s champions say that if they lose the battle there, it will open the floodgates to drilling in protected spaces across the continent. MORE

Oct. 17, 2014

Nyonyi Bwana Kawa, mayor of Beni, Democratic Republic of Congo, says rebels crept into houses and attacked civilians, killing at least 30 people around the eastern town. MORE

Oct. 7, 2014

Dr Lawrence K Altman The Doctor's World column describes Dr Peter Piot's 1976 discovery of previously unknown Ebola virus in Zaire, area now known as Democratic Republic of Congo. MORE

Sep. 12, 2014

World Health Organization reports that the number of Ebola cases in Democratic Republic of Congo has doubled over the past week to 62, and that more than half the afflicted patients have died. MORE

Aug. 22, 2014

World Health Organization reports 592 people in northern part of Democratic Republic of Congo have contracted hemorrhagic gastroenteritis, and 70 have died; denies that illness is Ebola. MORE

Aug. 5, 2014

Hundreds of protesters gather outside State Department at start of summit meeting of more than 40 African heads of state; denounce leaders as 'torturers' and 'killers,' directing anger toward White House for looking to enhance economic ties with repressive governments; protesters are mainly from Ethiopia and Democratic Republic of Congo. MORE

Jul. 12, 2014

Annual Salaam Kivu International Film Festival, entering its ninth year in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo, aims to provide artistic expression and sense of community to city ravaged by war and a volcano eruption. MORE

Jun. 29, 2014

Members of the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, militia composed of ethnic Hutus from Rwanda who have been terrorizing people of Congo for decades, turn in their weapons, saying they will do so for good if they are allowed to go home and negotiate with the Rwandan government; United Nations officials, although skeptical of the guerrillas' sincerity, are cautiously backing the effort. MORE

Jun. 13, 2014

Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda send more troops to shared border after gunfire briefly breaks out for second day. MORE

May. 27, 2014

United Nations officials demand halt to the expulsion of tens of thousands of citizens of the Democratic Republic of Congo from the neighboring Congo Republic and call for investigation into allegations of human rights violations. MORE

May. 24, 2014

International Criminal Court in The Hague sentences Congolese military leader Germain Katanga to 12 years in prison for his role in attack on village of Bogoro in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003; more than 200 civilians were shot or hacked to death in the tribal massacre. MORE

May. 6, 2014

Military court in the Democratic Republic of Congo sentences two soldiers to life in prison in connection with 2012 mass rape of at least 97 women and 33 girls in the eastern town of Minova. MORE

May. 5, 2014

Sec of State John Kerry publicly urges Democratic Republic of Congo Pres Joseph Kabila to not run for another term in 2016, amid speculation that Kabila might seek to have Constitution amended so that he could run for a third term. MORE

Apr. 26, 2014

More than 20 people are killed in southwestern region of Democratic Republic of Congo when generators fail during festival honoring popular singer, plunging stadium into darkness and causing a stampede. MORE

Apr. 18, 2014

Belgian Prince Emmanuel de Merode is recovering from gunshot wounds after being attacked by unknown assailants in the Democratic Republic of Congo; de Merode is an internationally recognized conservationist who has been working to protect rare mountain gorillas in the country. MORE

Mar. 25, 2014

Ugandan police say death toll from boat accident on Lake Albert has reached 107; most of the victims were Congolese refugees returning home from a resettlement camp. MORE

Feb. 11, 2014

International Criminal Court hears arguments in the case against Bosco Ntaganda, former rebel leader accused of war crimes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, as judges consider whether there is sufficient evidence to move ahead with the trial. MORE

Jan. 15, 2014

Martin Kobler, head of United Nations peacekeeping mission in Democratic Republic of Congo, says 8,000 fighters affiliated with variety of armed factions have surrendered since M23 rebel group was routed in November; members of Hutu militias are among those who have surrendered. MORE

Dec. 31, 2013

Congolese troops kill dozens of youths who attack the airport, military barracks and the state radio and television headquarters in Kinshasa; attacks appear to be a failed assault by followers of disgruntled religious leader Paul Joseph Mukungubila. MORE

Dec. 27, 2013

Soldiers in Democratic Republic of Congo, backed by United Nations peacekeepers, have reclaimed town of Kamango in eastern Congo from Ugandan rebel group MORE

Dec. 13, 2013

Democratic Republic of Congo signs peace deal with M23 rebels it had been fighting until they laid down their arms, ending weeks of wrangling over the terms of the agreement. MORE

Dec. 11, 2013

United Nations peacekeeping troops have launched operations against the Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, Hutu rebel militia operating along the Rwanda's border with the Democratic Republic of Congo. MORE

Dec. 3, 2013

United Nations officials say it will start using surveillance drones for the first time in the Democratic Republic of Congo to monitor the volatile border with Rwanda. MORE

Nov. 13, 2013

Decision by United Nations Security Council to authorize Force Intervention Brigade, force made up of 3,000 soldiers from South Africa, Tanzania and Malawi, to neutralize M23 rebel group in Democratic Republic of Congo is a major departure from the often passive approach that had given the peacekeepers a bad reputation. MORE

Nov. 8, 2013

Ugandan military has begun process of disarming large numbers of M23 rebels from neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo; rebel group has said it is giving up its armed struggle. MORE

Nov. 7, 2013

United Nations peacekeepers, having helped rout powerful rebel group M23 in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, are expected to take on ethnic Hutu militia known as Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda, or FDLR, whose members Rwanda holds responsible for the 1994 genocide. MORE

Nov. 6, 2013

Rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo announce they are laying down their arms for good; major turnaround is brought about by rare combination of pressures from around the world, including more aggressive approach to peacekeeping by the United Nations; surrender offers new hope for region where conflict has gone on for so many years that it has often come to seem almost inevitable. MORE

Oct. 31, 2013

Congolese troops seize control of Bunagana on the Ugandan border from feared rebel group M23; it is latest town reclaimed in army's rapid advance of fighting. MORE

Oct. 27, 2013

Congolese Army and United Nations peacekeeping forces are gaining ground in ongoing war against M23 rebels, having been jolted into action after defeat at regional capital of Goma. MORE

Oct. 5, 2013

Pres Paul Kagame of Rwanda angrily condemns decision by United States to impose sanctions against his country for what Washington says is his government’s support for rebels in Democratic Republic of Congo who recruit child soldiers; says decision will weaken country and benefit other rebels. MORE

Oct. 1, 2013

United Nations report says number of refugees fleeing the war in the Democratic Republic of Congo swelled by more than 360,000 in just a few months as fighting escalated; action pushes the number or people uprooted in the long-running conflict to three million. MORE

Aug. 31, 2013

Congolese government troops occupy strategic hills overlooking the eastern city of Goma after M23 rebel fighters withdraw; development is the government's most significant military success in a year. MORE

Aug. 30, 2013

Escalating conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo threatens to embroil Rwanda after Rwandan woman is killed and her baby wounded in shelling; Rwandan officials accuse Congolese military of deliberately shelling Rwandan territory. MORE

Aug. 26, 2013

Congolese soldiers and rebel forces suffer heavy casualties as they fight for fifth day near eastern city of Goma; three United Nations peacekeepers are wounded. MORE

Aug. 25, 2013

United Nations forces join Congolese soldiers on front line as border tensions escalate between Rwanda and Democratic Republic of Congo. MORE

Aug. 24, 2013

Special United Nations brigade formed to neutralize armed groups in the Democratic Republic of the Congo takes its first military action, firing artillery at rebels menacing city Goma. MORE

Aug. 23, 2013

At least five civilians are wounded by mortar fire in eastern city of Goma in Democratic Republic of Congo during second day of heavy fighting between government forces and rebels. MORE

Aug. 2, 2013

United Nations announces that it has selected its first unarmed surveillance drone, Italian-made plane that will be tried out by peacekeepers in Democratic Republic of Congo. MORE

Aug. 1, 2013

United Nations, in early test of robust new mandate for the multinational peacekeeping contingent, threatens to forcibly disarm rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo; orders individuals near the eastern city of Goma to turn in their weapons or be deemed 'an imminent threat to civilians.' MORE

Jul. 24, 2013

United States calls on Rwanda to end support for M23 rebels in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, saying there is evidence that Rwandan military officials were involved; clashes between rebels and Congolese government forces have heightened concern about reviving violence in the region. MORE

Jul. 16, 2013

Democratic Republic of Congo’s army shells rebel positions in second day of fierce fighting, and Rwanda and Congo trade accusations of aggression. MORE

Jul. 15, 2013

Uganda Red Cross says more than 60,000 residents of Democratic Republic of Congo have fled to Uganda after rebel attack on town near the border; continuing influx of refugees is stretching capacity of humanitarian workers in Uganda. MORE

Jun. 6, 2013

Researchers report that a type of group therapy designed for trauma victims is proving extraordinarily helpful for survivors of sexual violence in war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo. MORE

May. 24, 2013

United Nations Sec Gen Ban Ki-moon, in visit to region, says that security must go hand in hand with development in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s eastern city of Goma. MORE

May. 22, 2013

Two days of clashes between rebel fighters and Congo’s army near eastern city of Goma kill at least 19 people, threatening uneasy six-month peace. MORE

This article was reported by Ian Fisher, Norimitsu Onishi, Rachel L. Swarns, Blaine Harden and Alan Cowell, and written by Mr. Fisher and Mr. Onishi.

Congo and the nine nations around it sit on what may be the richest patch of this planet: there are diamonds, oil, uranium, gold, plentiful water, fertile land and exquisite wildlife. It is now also one of the biggest battlefields in Africa's history, the object of a conflict that has been dubbed ''Africa's first world war.''

When the Zairian rebel leader Laurent Kabila announced last October that he would topple President Mobutu Sese Seko, almost no one took him seriously. But in a scant seven months, his rebel army conquered a country as large as the United States east of the Mississippi.

{"type":"article","show_header_text":false,"header":"","query":"(geo=\"Congo, Democratic Republic of (Congo-Kinshasa)\" or geo like \"Zaire\" or geo like \"Kinshasa\") and tom!=\"Editorial\" and tom!=\"Correction\" and tom!=\"Obituary\" and tom!=\"paid death notice\" and hdl!=\"paid notice\" and tom!=\"Caption\" and tom!=\"Summary\" and tom!=\"Schedule\" and tom!=\"Letter\" and dsk!=\"Travel\" and dsk!=\"Escapes\" and dsk!=\"Dining\" and dsk!=\"Fashion\" and dsk!=\"Fashions\" and dsk!=\"Style\" and dsk!=\"Styles\" and dsk!=\"Society\" and dsk!=\"Home\" and dsk!=\"Home\/Style\" and dsk!=\"Living\" and dsk!=\"Beauty\" and dsk!=\"Design\" and dsk!=\"Theater\" and des!=\"Theater\" and dsk!=\"Movies\" and des!=\"Motion Pictures\" and des!=\"Movies\"","search_query":"(glocations:\"Congo, Democratic Republic of \\(Congo-Kinshasa\\)\" OR glocations.contains:\"Zaire\" OR glocations.contains:\"Kinshasa\") AND -type_of_material:\"Editorial\" AND -type_of_material:\"Correction\" AND -type_of_material:\"Obituary\" AND -type_of_material:\"paid death notice\" AND -headline:\"paid notice\" AND -type_of_material:\"Caption\" AND -type_of_material:\"Summary\" AND -type_of_material:\"Schedule\" AND -type_of_material:\"Letter\" AND -news_desk:\"Travel\" AND -news_desk:\"Escapes\" AND -news_desk:\"Dining\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashion\" AND -news_desk:\"Fashions\" AND -news_desk:\"Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Styles\" AND -news_desk:\"Society\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\" AND -news_desk:\"Home\/Style\" AND -news_desk:\"Living\" AND -news_desk:\"Beauty\" AND -news_desk:\"Design\" AND -news_desk:\"Theater\" AND -subject:\"Theater\" AND -news_desk:\"Movies\" AND -subject:\"Motion Pictures\" AND -subject:\"Movies\"","num_search_articles":"30","show_summary":true,"show_byline":true,"show_pub_date":true,"hide_thumbnails":false,"show_kicker":false,"show_title":false,"show_related_topics":true,"show_rad_links":true,"show_subtopics":true,"exclude_topics":"CONGO (FORMERLY ZAIRE)","exclude":["",""],"more_on_header":"MORE ON CONGO AND:","alternate_index_subidx":"","show_thumbnails":true}

Marcus Bleasdale, winner of the Robert Capa Gold Medal from the Overseas Press Club, has worked with nongovernmental organizations that have used his images to get the attention of policy-makers and power brokers.